SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Unusually high utility bills caught many New Jersey customers by surprise last year. To help customers avoid the kind of sticker shock at the end of the month that can destroy family budgets, a new bill, recently approved by the General Assembly in Trenton, would require utility companies to notify customers when high costs begin to mount.
According to Atlantic City Electric, between June and July of last year, its residential customers used 20% more electricity compared to the year before. Bill sponsor Assemblyman David Bailey says he got walloped like many others last summer.
“So this bill would provide smart meter customers with the tools to rein in their costs by requiring both the electric and gas public utilities to provide customers with better advanced notice when their usage exceeds a customer’s average daily usage.”
The Energy Bill Watch program would require utility companies to notify customers by text or email on the 10th and 20th days of their billing cycle the cost of their energy use and the amount, in kilowatt hours or therms, of the customers’ electricity or gas usage up to the moment they send the notification.
“Gives them a heads up,” Bailey said. “So if you’re running high on the 10th day of the billing cycle, it’ll let you know. And then if it continues to the 20th day of the billing cycle.”
The bill does not address the supply side of energy production. Bailey says the pause of offshore wind plans won’t help lower energy costs and that other options, such as nuclear, should be discussed as well.
“We have got to get more sustainable energy options into the queue.”
Last month, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced higher electricity costs for most residents and small businesses starting in June 2025.
Soaring energy costs are not limited to New Jersey. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about 70% of Americans say extreme heat in the last year has had an effect on their energy costs.
Atlantic City Electric says they are committed to helping customers better understand their energy consumption, and they offer tools to help people save money, including ways for people to monitor their usage in real time.
The bill now heads to the state Senate, where it needs to pass before it can be signed into law.